Agren — Local services in Sidney

Unfortunately, it appears that Steve’s Appliance is no longer the service center I would ever recommend to repair any sort of appliances, whether purchased there or not. My partner and I called to get our washer dryer stacking combo serviced, thankfully not a rush and we had been quite patient on getting it scheduled to be looked at. The day the technician came out, he only really focused on our dryer, which he did point out the issue (leaving us to clean it out) and it appears to work. Great! Our washer however, was looked at, “cleaned out” and then deemed good to go, without testing or even addressing the issue at hand (which, I would later be informed he put in his notes that he did in fact test it, which I find hard to believe as 1. I was there, and 2. If he had tested it, he would find that it did not, in fact, work). When I brought this up, I was informed a tech would return in a couple weeks. Not a problem, we were super patient and understanding. Come the date we were supposed to have a tech out, I’m waiting around for the three hour window given, until that window closed and I reached out to be told we needed to have a part ordered and to be rescheduled to the following week. Okay! Awesome, just want it fixed, despite being skeptical of the part spoken about (it was to drain it, when the washer itself drains fine, it just doesn’t spin, but I’m not a technician after all…). A week goes by, no communication at all from Steve’s Appliance, I call in to be told it going to be scheduled for the following week. I’ve now wasted two afternoons now with little to no communication, and it had taken a lot to even get any quotes out of them for the price of the service, on top of another service charge. Apparently 2023 is now the year to not do right by a customer, as when I called in to express concern about being charged so many times when nothing would actually be getting fixed, I was pushed aside and made to feel like I was the silly one to have such concerns and would be paying regardless of how many times he had to come out (as this is normal, apparently). Due to the treatment from all ends of the staff, I have now canceled my appointment to have a random part installed that has left me questioning the credibility of their technicians, and will be leaving frustrated as I’ve now handed off money to a company who would have been more than happy to leave me with a broken machine had I not brought it to their attention.

Please look elsewhere for your repair needs, as this is not the location to be respected and treated fairly, despite persistent patience in waiting for a company to figure out where their ducks...

"Do what you say -- and -- Say what you will do."

Steve's Appliances enjoys a well deserved 5-star reputation, and they demonstrated today why they have that reputation. 10 minutes before the appointment time, Miles the Service Repair Technician, called to let me know his ETA. (More stuff below if you're interested...) Clean, neat, tidy Technician. My dog loved him, he loved my dog -- always a good litmus test! Miles immediately got to work, turning down an offer of a morning beverage. In less than 3 minutes he had diagnosed and fixed my washing machine's problem! He had taken a picture of the exact Model #, which I thought was quite clever. Payment (only $145!!) was simple, my choice of credit card, check or cash. I highly recommend Steve's Appliance Repair -- everyone was so sweet and courteous!

More, if you're interested...

I called them a week ago, and was greeted by a super friendly lady who immediately said she could fit me in next week. Then, three days prior to the appointment date, they called and told me when the three hour window would be on the appointment date. Then I got a reminder text I think. And lastly I got a call from Miles like I said, telling me he was on his way. That's excellent customer service! That's how you do it!!! 500 gold stars!!

Side notes: I called Fortin's when looking for a Repair company to come out. So incredibly rude to me in the Service Department -- I will therefore NEVER PURCHASE ANYTHING from this company as long as I live. Please don't patronize them. There are plenty of stores to spend your $. Agren's, for example, will meet or beat even the box stores, so screw Fortin's. Don't patronize a store where you are treated rudely, like garbage! I will be cross posting this on Fortin's and Agren's site. I contacted Angi, formerly Angi's List. Oh. My. Gawd. Never again. They canceled THREE TIMES on me -- AFTER the three hour window of time to expect them had expired. The minimum amount of $$ they charge just to show up is $434. (That's the discounted price after you buy an annual membership!) That doesn't include anything other than they show up. Lastly they don't tell you what company you can expect. You have no idea who is coming! I will be cross posting this on Angi's site. Horrible mistake on my part to...

As a fellow small business owner in Central Maine I always try to buy local whenever I can, especially during this pandemic! So when my oven went out and I needed an igniter I called around and Steve's had one for 68.58. While I was researching the problem I had seen that a reputable store online had the same part for 38.44 after taxes and 2 day shipping. I still opted to get it from Steve's but made the mistake of asking if "that's the best price they could give me?" I made sure to explain that I owned a business and understood why brick and morter costs more and that while "I prefer to buy local I figured it didn't hurt to ask." Ya well the look of disgust I got from the rep and the sarcastic "Ya that's the best we can do" said it all! I apologized and told him I wasn't trying to be rude and that my customers ask me all the time, and I only asked because I had found it online with two day shipping for a bit less. To which he tersly replied, "you can get it from them". Ok.... I apologized again and bought the part. Look I get it. Brick and morter stores can't compete with online stores price wise....but when customers ask me I try to accommodate them in some small way and then try to make sure both mine and my employee's customer service makes them want to come back.... despite paying a little more! I fully understand right now is tough and the last thing you want to feel is like your always getting nickle and dimed by everyone.... but customer service is important, especially right now! So a simple apology and a "unfortunately that's the best we can do" would certainly have left a better taste in my mouth! I'm not sure if I can say I won't get anything from them again.... everyone has a bad day....and that's probably just store policy.... But I may check out Dave's or...